American Energy Alliance

This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

The American Energy Alliance (AEA) describes itself as "the independent grassroots affiliate of the Institute for Energy Research (IER). AEA’s mission is to enlist and empower energy consumers to encourage policymakers to support free market policies. These policies lead to abundant, affordable, and reliable energy for all Americans."[1] It was founded in 2008 by Thomas Pyle, who previously lobbied on behalf of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association and Koch Industries and who previously worked for Congressman Tom Delay (R-TX), when Delay served as Whip and before Delay, as House Majority Leader, stepped down from the U.S. House of Representatives under an ethical cloud.

Denial of Political Activity

As reported by The Center for Public Integrity, in its 2012 Form 990 filing with the IRS, AEA claimed it did not "engage in direct or indirect political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office" and that it was a "nonpartisan policy-oriented organization," not a "‘political’ organization."[3] Marcus Owens, an attorney who previously headed the IRS’ tax-exempt division, said the American Energy Alliance’s new filing "certainly raises a red flag."

Funding

Since 2008, AEA has been established as a 501c4 non profit group, whose focus is lobbying, but it does not disclose who its funders are.[4] In its 2012 IRS 990 filing, AEA reported contributions and grants of $7,324,959 and expenses of $7,014,968, along with assets of $1,780,199.[5]

AEA shares the same address as IER in Washington, DC. IER also has an office in Houston, Texas, which is listed as 1415 S. Voss Rd., Suite 110-287, Houston, Texas 77057, Phone: (713) 974-1918, which is the same address as the UPS store for postal boxes.[10]

Ties to the Koch Brothers

The Koch network was one of the biggest political operations in 2012 and worked largely outside the campaign finance system, raising at least $407 million. Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics.

History

AEA was incorporated in 2008. It has the same name as a group that was founded in 1993 to defeat a Btu tax;[13] however, the new AEA is a completely distinct corporate entity from the prior AEA, which is apparently defunct. The new and separate organization called "AEA" is not focused on Btu taxes but instead is focused on cap and trade and drilling issues primarily. While the confusion caused by sharing the same name is understandable, the organizations are not the same.

The other, unrelated, AEA was the subject of controversy back in June 1993 after Time magazine reported that the National Manufacturers Association "got together with the American Petroleum Institute, 1,600 large companies, small businesses and farmers to form the American Energy Alliance (AEA), a group designed solely to defeat the BTU tax. The coalition paid more than $1 million to Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm, to deploy nearly 45 staff members in 23 states during the past two months. Burson's goal was to drum up as much grass-roots outrage about the BTU tax as possible and direct it at the swing Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee..."[14]

Controversy

Obama and gas prices

In March 2012, American Energy Alliance launched a $3.6 million ad campaign in eight states, tying Obama's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline to higher gas prices, and recycling a 2008 quote from Energy Secretary Steven Chu about the benefits of European-level gas prices.[15]

Udall and drilling

In July 2008, the current entity called AEA sponsored radio advertisements in New Mexico, attacking congressman Tom Udall, who is now a U.S Senator, for his opposition to oil drilling. The New Mexico Independent noted that "Information on the group is hard to come by. There are no online Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filings, no Internal Revenue Service filings and no way to contact the group."[16] The group has a new address, however, which is provided below. (AEA also ran ads against Udall's cousin, Mark Udall, who is now a U.S. Senator representing Colorado.)

Benjamin Cole: Director of Communications. Former policy adviser and investigative analyst for the Republican staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform under Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA)